Tokuzō Fukuda (福田徳三 ''Fukuda Tokuzō''; born February 12, 1874; died May 8, 1930) was a pioneer of modern Japanese economics. Fukuda introduced economic theory and

economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and i ...

for the Social Policy School and the Younger Historical school of economics. He graduated from the Tokyo Higher School of Commerce (today's

Hitotsubashi University is a national university located in Tokyo, Japan. It has campuses in Kunitachi, Kodaira, and Chiyoda. One of the top 9 Designated National University in Japan, Hitotsubashi is a relatively small institution specialized solely in social science ...

). After he was appointed lecturer of his alma mater, he studied in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, under

Karl Bücher Karl Wilhelm Bücher (16 February 1847, Kirberg, Hesse – 12 November 1930, Leipzig, Saxony) was a German economist, one of the founders of non-market economics, and the founder of journalism as an academic discipline. Biography Early life ...

among others in the field, and he earned his doctorate from

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. His thesis dealt with the social and economic development in Japan (original title: ''Die gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Entwicklung in Japan'') and was supervised by

Lujo Brentano Lujo Brentano (; ; 18 December 1844 – 9 September 1931) was an eminent German economist and social reformer. Biography Lujo Brentano, born in Aschaffenburg into a distinguished German Catholic intellectual family (originally of Italian desce ...

. After returning to Japan, he became professor of his alma mater and later at

Keiō University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowme ...

. During the years known as the period of "Taishō Democracy", he joined with others to establish Reimeikai, which was a society "to propagate ideas of democracy among the people." This group was formed in order to sponsor public lectures. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he defended democracy, advanced a critique of Marxian theory, and emphasized the solution of social and labour problems by government intervention rather than revolution. He is also considered a pioneer of the contemporary

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...

. As an advisor to the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, he also worked out policy drafts. He is closely related to the Japanese liberal movement and is considered a

social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

social-democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

Notes

References

* Marshall, Byron K. (1992). ''Academic Freedom and the Japanese Imperial University, 1868-1939.'' Berkeley: University of California Press.
OCLC 25130703
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

.
OCLC 58053128
Japanese economists 1874 births 1930 deaths Hitotsubashi University alumni Japanese social liberals Japanese social democrats Liberalism in Japan Recipients of the Legion of Honour {{Japan-economist-stub